I'm back... - Smoking Cessation Message Board

Fireball76 · 07-26-2006, 11:28 PM

I don't know if anyone here remembers me, but I recognize a few names. I was posting about two and a half years ago while I was pregnant with my second son.
I'm happy to say that I quit through my entire pregnancy. (Okay I may have had one or two, but I did way better than I did when I was pregnant the first time.)
I'm unhappy to say that I started up smoking again about three months after my baby was born. So I've been back on the smoke wagon since October of 2004.
My life has quite a bit going on right now. I'm going through a divorce (but that's not a particularly high stress area for me) I'm also dieting at this time. I have a new man in my life who is wonderful and who adores me and I him, he loves my boys. We've been friends for years, so I know him very well and know this is where I want to be.
What I'd really like is to quit smoking. I tried about two months ago. I bought the gum and used that. It seemed to help with the cravings, but I could never get on a schedule to chew it and before I knew it I was in a full blown nic fit and end up smoking. So I tried for a while with keeping an "emergency pack" on hand. Well, as you all can imagine, I'm back to a pack+/day.
I don't feel good. I have two boys that I want to see grow up. My five year old is asking me to stop, which is a huge part of this, I want him to see me succeed. I'd just like to stop.
To all of you who have quit, did you go cold turkey, did you use a replacement method? Which do you prefer?
It makes me nervous to even think about not having a smoke. So how do you get past that and stick with it for so long that it becomes the way you live?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Deda · 07-27-2006, 10:24 PM

Oh, hey Fireball...

I remember you, girl...yes I do!

I remember you were PG, and would be at work and post here, and didn't you like to eat those fireballs (candy) too??

I'm sorry things didn't work out with quitting. You obviously weren't ready/committed to giving it up for good. I did that before in my past too,..many times. In fact, I quit smoking 6 weeks before my daughter was born, (hubby still smoked around me), and managed to stay quit for 14 months....just wasn't ready to quit for good. This time I REALLY was, and I'm going on 3 years not smoking, this Sept. 24th.

All I can advise you to do, Fireball, to stay quit, is, you have to make that committment....you have to have your heart and soul in it 1OO%, all or nothing at all...it just won't work unless you're committed ALL THE WAY!! And don't expect any NRT to just do it for you...it will take hard work on your part, for at least 6 months to a year. Nothing good comes easy...never! I went into it, knowing it would not be a cakewalk...but I was willing to work hard at this quit...I was just ready to quit, at all costs, no matter what it took...I was sick to death of smoking.

As far as which way to quit, I HAD to use a NRT, as I just would'nt be able to quit w/o it, ever. (I tried cold turkey many times...a disaster..I was hopless w/o nrt to sooth those horrid cravings) I quit with the patch first, and later the gum. One piece of my advice, if you do decide to use NRT.....DON'T use the gum....it is HIGHLY addictive....and took me forever to get off of it, and my hubby too, and other people I've met here. The good thing about the patch is, you get a more steady, even stream of nicotine in your bloodstream...where as with the gum, you get the spikes....highs n lows. Patches are easier to wean off of too....graduating down from 21 mg to 14 to 7 mg....much better way to go, as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway girlfriend, glad you're back, and I hope you succeed in quitting...if you really want to--YOU WILL!!! You have a very GOOD reason to too...those 2 little boys. Don't wait until you're older and have smoked 25 or 30 years like so many of us here....be smarter than us and do it now...while you're still young and healthy. You'll regret someday if you don't. I know I wished I had.

Best of luck!
Deda